Posted at 22:42h
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Devotionals
"But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God." 2 Corinthians 4:2
I once heard my pastor Adrian Rogers say, "If it's true it isn't new." Had the apostle Paul heard him he would have given a loud and hearty, "Amen!" I say this because I believe this is the essence of Paul's point in this statement to the church at Corinth. I understand Paul to teach that there shouldn't be anything purely original in a revelation. When he writes about "commending ourselves to every man's conscience," I believe he's talking about commending truth to the "consciousness" of man. Paul's point is that divine truth, like any other truth, must first speak to man's experience. It must appeal to something that the hearer already knows to be true. In other words it is "a faithful saying worthy of all acceptation."
"But as for me, my prayer is to You, O LORD, in the acceptable time; O God, in the multitude of Your mercy, Hear me in the truth of Your salvation." Psalm 69:13
It is commonly considered that prayer falls into one of two categories - those prayers that are in accordance with God's will and those prayers that are not. However, it seems that the Psalmist here is suggesting a third category. He tells us that there may be those prayers that are not in accordance with God's will...today. Evidently there is an acceptable time in which certain prayers may be answered, because obviously he is not suggesting that there is an "acceptable time" for us to pray. The Scripture makes it clear that our Father loves to hear His children pray even when it is not a prayer that He can respond to positively. You see, the limitation isn't on the prayers that we prayer, but on the answers He gives.
